Always Have, Always Will
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: He messed things up the first time, and he wasn't going to do it again the second time. One-shot turned two-shots, Kurama x Botan.
1. Chapter 1

**Always Have, Always Will**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. DX**

"Botan?"

"Eh? Kurama…"

They just stood there; emerald met amethyst for the first time since long years ago and neither thought they would meet each other again.

He didn't think he'd see her again.

How long has it been?

Four? Five years? It seemed so long since he'd last seen her.

But now, she was here. Standing right in front of him, feet attached to the same place his were. The same place they'd spend countless times together; the park.

Now that he looked at her, he couldn't help but notice she was still as beautiful as ever, if not, even more. Her now longer sky blue hair was braided, and her jewel like purple eyes were as big as they had always been. Her pearl white skin, pink rosy lips, and long eyelashes… Everything seemed the same.

But it wasn't.

There was something different about her.

She was taller now.

Last time he saw her, when they were still in high school, she always stood shorter than him, only reaching his shoulders. And now, even if she was still shorter than him, Kurama realized she was now reaching his neck. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he was used to seeing her this tall. For as long as he could remember, she had always been shorter than she was now.

But then he was reminded that people change over time. Their height; and everything.

But somehow, she was the same as ever.

Nothing much except her height was different in her appearance.

She was the same; the most beautiful girl in town – as he would always call her years ago. He knew that description didn't fit her; she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Nothing and no one else could compare to her.

She was the same beautiful girl he had fallen in love with those five years ago.

He still was in love with her.

He hadn't loved her in the first place, when they first met. He never intended to love someone like her, all of people. Yes, he'd never seen someone as attractive as her in his life, and yet, they were complete opposites.

Like the moon and the sun.

He was calm, she was panicky. He was cautious, she was clumsy. He never talked much, she was too talkative. He didn't have a lot of close friends, she had millions of them.

They were complete opposites.

But perhaps that was what drawn him closer to her anyway.

She light him up; Botan was the one who light up everything in his life to him. That cheerfulness, that big, jovial smile he'd always see on her face – nearly everything about her was too bright for him.

They'd been together before. He didn't love her then; no, he didn't think he would. It had all been a dare, a stupid dare made by his friends. He was to go out with her, make her fall for him – that was the dare he was supposed to do. Everyone in school knew Botan was a hard girl to get, and that was probably why his friends would dare him such a thing. That he was Shuichi Minamino, aka Kurama, who was the most popular guy in school. If he couldn't make her fall in love, who else could?

It was all just a game.

But, as more time passed, the more he got to know her. He knew she loved the color blue, that basically everything she had was blue. He knew she loved watching clouds, stars, anything beautiful. He knew she loved eating ice cream; that she'd always get excited everytime an ice cream parlor would pass by. He knew everything about her; from her liking to sew puppets of the people she knew, to her habit of biting her lower lip if she was hiding something. But most importantly, he knew that smile of hers was just a façade, a mask she'd cleverly put on everytime; of course he had always known that, but he would've never thought that façade would fall apart only when she was with him. He knew her deepest secrets, her problems. Everything that troubled her, she told him.

She trusted him.

She loved him.

To everyone else, she was a puzzle, but to him, she was a book he could always read. He'd always figure her out.

He was the only person who could.

And without even knowing how, when or where, he felled for her. Hook, line and sinker. He was hooked. Entranced. Charmed by the girl he initially thought was just a friend.

Kurama had never been in love; never thought he would. Especially not with her.

But he was.

He still was.

She didn't know that.

When everything fell apart, when she finally found out that he was just dared to go out with her; that was the darkest times of his life. She had gone to him, crying and yelling at him. She threw things at him; he couldn't blame her. And after all that was done with, she finally calmed down; eyes red with tears and face equally as red with anger. Asking him what he was intended to do.

" _Were you supposed to date me, and fuck me? Was that it? Was this just some stupid bet you and your goddamn friends made? Was I supposed to sleep with you, Kurama?!_ "

He could still remember her exact words. He didn't know why Botan would even ask him such things, but he figured she was just so furious at him and she had every right to be. He hadn't answer her then; shocked by her words. But such a thing… he would never do it. He would never touch her. He loved her, but everytime he was with her, the guilt creeping up his skin was always too great to bear, he couldn't think of touching her. He didn't even dare to kiss her, only forced to when she cried on their fifth date at the park when he wouldn't. So he had kissed her, as he couldn't stand seeing her cry, especially when it was because of him.

She had probably been crying because she assumed he didn't want to. He did, he wanted to touch her, to make everything about her his, but he couldn't.

Kurama just couldn't.

The night they broke up, she cried again. Even harder then. The tears streaming down her face so uncontrollably that he had been afraid that she wouldn't stop.

When she left him, he had punched the wall, and before he knew it, he himself was crying, too. The hot liquid tasted salty as it entered his lips, but he didn't care. He was just so angry at himself for making her cry, and sad that his heart ached that she was no longer his. He knew things would mess up eventually; that she would find out anyway, and no doubt leave him – he was even prepared for it to happen, certain that she should be with someone else that was better than him. But probably not as prepared as he thought he was, as the pain was far too painful for him to bear, and he knew that his heart wanted her back.

That night, he put photos of Botan, and the two of them together, in frames… and hung them on the wall of his room, put them on his desk… or wherever else he could in his room. He wanted memories of them together to remain; he was sure he could never talk to her again, and that she surely hated him. These photos were all what was left of their relationship.

Yusuke had gone to his house, apologizing for what happened, saying something about how he accidentally blurted out the whole thing to Keiko. No doubt the brunette was the one who told Botan of the dare. His friends – Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei – the three of them knew how much the redhead had came to love her, and they had even planned on letting the dare be a secret they take to their graves, if it meant not messing up what he and Botan had.

But she was supposed to know; going to anyway. Kurama had told Yusuke that it was okay; that things were better off this way even if he was heartbroken. He couldn't think of what his heart wanted; not when Botan was more hurt than he was, and that she deserved to be happy. And he didn't make her happy.

Yusuke had said something about how he told Keiko she shouldn't have went and done that, but Kurama had dismissed him, saying that his friend's girlfriend only did what she thought she should be doing for her best friend and Kurama could never blame her for that.

He went to school, but he didn't see Botan.

For weeks, there had been no signs of her.

His friends told him she didn't want to see him, and that she was at her house. Keiko even went and said that when she went to Botan's house, the girl was curled up in her blanket, and everything in her room was messy; anything with glass broke, the whole place seemed like a tornado hit it. The brunette had said she was sorry, but Kurama just told her what he told Yusuke.

After what seemed like a long time, she finally came back to school. Everyone had missed her, but no one missed her as much as he did. But, as he had expected, she avoided him. She didn't even look at him. It was painful, but Kurama had told himself to bear with it. It was what he expected she'd do anyway.

Two months passed, then it became three… and that was when he got a letter from a university abroad which wrote he was accepted. Kurama had been so overjoyed he told everyone about it, and they all congratulated him. When it finally came; his last day at the town, his mother had hugged him, kissed every inch of his face she could, and said that she'd missed him, and that she was proud of him.

Then his friends came. It was all hugs and tears and 'I'll miss you's; it was the saddest day of his life to be apart with all the only people he had known and cared for in his entire life. But what made it even sadder was the fact that Botan wasn't there. She was the one he hoped would be there, but Kurama figured as much as he didn't even tell her about him going abroad. Though there was something in his heart that held hope she would be there; that maybe somehow she would find out he was going away. But it was merely his childish thoughts.

Or so he thought.

When he went into the airplane, he had distantly caught the sound of her voice calling his name before the door finally closed.

He didn't manage to tell her how much he loved her.

He didn't see her broke into tears.

Ever since that day, he lived his life normally, at least as normally as he could. She was still in his mind, where she would always be. Everyone he knew at the university kept trying to set him up with some hot chick, but he declined every offer as politely as he could, all the while inwardly laughing the idea off as something foolish.

No one knew his heart already belonged to someone.

Not one soul.

Four years became five… and he finally decided to visit this town again. He'd come every once in a while when it was during the holidays, and everytime, he thought he'd see Botan again. But he never did. Keiko told him she moved away when her father got a job outside of town, a few months after he went on his way out of Japan. Of course, he had asked her if Botan hadn't come back to the town, and Keiko had answered by saying that she visited a lot of times, but never during the holidays as all of them knew that during those times she would have to visit her grandmother.

He hadn't thought he'd ever get to see her.

Not until now.

For a moment, Kurama wasn't sure what to do. He thought of talking to her, but then, was she still angry at him? At the thought, he turned his back on her on instincts, intent on leaving the park.

But when a hand grabbed his, the touch so familiar to him, he stopped on his tracks. Turning around with a surprised look on his face, he wasn't able to say anything when two hands and a head came to rest on his chest. It took him only a mere fraction of a second to realize she was crying.

"Bo—"

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" the girl's voice cracked, and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably against his black turtleneck shirt.

He could feel wet, warm tears against his clothed chest, and he wondered why she was apologizing.

Kurama was afraid to do it, especially after all these years, but he did.

His arms enveloped her in a hug, slowly pulling her closer to him. He felt her body stiffened, and he was about to let go; assuming she wasn't comfortable but was stopped when he felt her grip his shirt in her two fists, burying her head deeper into his chest – if that was even possible.

He was so surprised he couldn't even move a muscle.

"I'm so sorry…" she said again.

And with that, Kurama snapped back into reality, and he brought a hand to her face, lifting her chin with his finger, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. And there it was, the face he'd seen five years ago; those tears trailing down her pink, round cheeks uncontrollably.

He didn't know why he did it, maybe it was to make her stop crying, but he did;

he kissed her.

His lips coming in contact with those lips he had missed so much over the years. The only lips he'd ever kissed.

Strawberry filled his taste buds, and he was instantly reminded of the time she had cried when he didn't kiss her, and how he had kissed her to stop her tears five years ago.

And now it was happening again, at the same exact place he'd first kissed her.

History was repeating itself.

Kurama didn't know why, but Botan kissed him back, if not, deepening the kiss. He had thought she would push him away, which was why he was beginning to wonder if this was a dream. But there was her scent, that vanilla scent… and he was sure that this was really happening. This was reality,

and he was kissing her again.

After what seemed like ages, they finally broke off the kiss.

And Kurama took in her appearance. Cheeks red in embarrassment, eyes slightly half-lidded, and lips bruised by his kiss… she was absolutely beautiful.

"S-sorry… I did that, to make you—" A finger came to rest on his lips, immediately shutting him up.

"I missed you," her words came out in a mere whisper, and he wasn't sure if he actually heard it. As if fate was trying to make him believe that those words were real, he heard it again when her hands pulled his face down closer to hers and warm lips came in contact with his own again, a mere kiss quickly broken off as it was brief, and came that whisper again, only a little louder this time, "Oh God, Kurama… I missed you. I missed you… so, so much…"

"Botan… What—"

"Yusuke told me before… before you gone away… that you truly did love me, but I didn't want to believe him. I thought he was pulling my leg, but then… then I went into your room, and I saw pictures of me, of us… and I—I wanted to tell you how sorry I am, but it was too late, you were already gone… I'm so sorry… I hurt you…" she cried again, hiccupping now and then.

As if finally understanding why she had been saying she was sorry, Kurama pulled her to him, whispering soothing words into her ear,

"No, no… Shh, stop crying, darling… that wasn't your fault. I-It was my fault… I should be the one saying I'm sorry… I hurt you more than you'd ever hurt me… I hope you can forgive me, Botan."

With that, he pulled away; emerald locking with teary amethyst, as a finger wiped her tears away. "Please stop crying… you're the girl I love so much, I can't stand seeing you like this…"

Fortunately for him, she finally stopped. Wiping away the tears in her eyes, Botan bit her lip, telling herself not to cry again as she continued where she left off,

"When I went to look inside your room, I found that letter from the university, but I was too late because you were already supposed to leave that day and I ran as quickly as I could to the airplane, but you already left… and when dad got a job outside of town, I thought I'd never see you again… and I was walking at this park; I just wanted to remember the times we were together here… I'm just so glad we meet again, I couldn't help but cry… I-I'm sorry for that…"

A laugh erupted from his throat, touching his eyes with mirth and love for this girl in front of him as he said in a gentle and loving voice, "Silly girl, don't apologize for crying. You don't need to apologize for anything."

Pink tinted her cheeks, and she averted her eyes to her feet, now embarrassed to meet his gaze as she nodded her head once. "O-okay… and I already forgive you. I already did, five years ago."

Kurama smiled, more than slightly glad to hear her words. Relief overcame him, and a heavy weight was lifted from his heart. He now felt it was light as a feather. Cupping Botan's cheek in one hand, and grabbing her hand in the other, Kurama planted a kiss on her forehead.

When she felt something touch her cheek, Botan lifted her head, and her heart instantly swelled with love and happiness when the redhead kissed her forehead. The small, simple touch was enough to make her blush.

Yes, this was her Kurama. Sweet, loving, and gentle Kurama. How she missed him. How could she hate him before? How could she leave him years ago? How could anyone leave this wonderful man?

"I love you, Botan."

And that was it, she couldn't help the tears of happiness that came flowing down her cheeks when those three words left his lips. Those three words she had been dying to hear ever since she'd last seen him.

"Kurama… Oh, Kurama… I love you, too…" she sobbed.

The redhead didn't know why she was crying. Was she that happy to see him? The thought made him swell with pride, and made him feel somewhat giddy inside. His lips turned upwards into a smile as he wiped her tears again. "Now, didn't I tell you not to cry?" It wasn't a question, both of them knew it, but she still answered;

"S-sorry… I'm just so happy…" She sniffed, before smiling that smile he hadn't seen for too long.

He laughed. "Didn't I also tell you to stop apologizing?" he joked, flicking her forehead with his middle finger and thumb.

She made a sound when he flicked her forehead, and rubbed the spot a bit, her mouth forming into a small pout. "Geez, Kurama…! How many times have I told you I don't like it when you do that?"

Kurama smiled for the umpteenth time that day, but said nothing. Of course, he didn't know how many times had she told him that already. But he did remember how she'd always scold him for flicking her forehead when they used to go out in the past; though that never stopped him anyway.

"So does this means we're back together?" Botan's voice snapped him out of memory lane, and back to reality.

He looked at her, loving the way her cheeks were tinted pink – probably because she herself was embarrassed by the question that had left her lips.

A chuckle escaped his lips, his emerald eyes glinting with mischief and yet, they still held his love for her, as he replied lovingly, all the while touching his forehead with hers. "What else would it mean?"

She smiled shyly at his answer, but the smile soon felled when she realized that he was slowly closing the distance between their two lips. She was even about to close her eyes when…

"AHHH! WOW! KURAMA AND BOTAN ARE BACK TOGETHER!"

The loud shriek caught both of them off guard, and they almost jumped at the sound. The two pulled apart, turning their heads to the source of the sound, and was greeted by the sight of all of their friends, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru and even Hiei was there.

"Shh!" Keiko put a finger to her lips. "Yusuke! Stop yelling!"

The black-haired man grumbled something under his breath, which Keiko paid no attention to, before saying out loud, "I was just shocked, you know…"

Keiko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you didn't need to shout…" she mumbled.

Yusuke was about to make a smart remark to that, only to be cut off when Yukina clapped her hands. "That's wonderful! Oh, but wait," she gasped, cupping a hand to her mouth as she quietly asked, "Botan-chan, I thought you were going to your grandmother's again?"

Botan waved a hand dismissively at the girl. "Yeah, but I figured why not visit here for a while. I mean, I could go to her house anytime. Plus, it's been so long since I've seen you guys!"

"Oh," Shizuru's voice chimed in, "I thought you and Kurama made a plan to meet here and you know," she teased, making kissing sounds.

"Yeah!" Kuwabara agreed. "When did you guys start dating each other again anyway?"

"And why didn't you tell us?" Yusuke butted in.

"Just now," Kurama retorted simply, his right eye twitching slightly at his friends' questions, and the assumption made by Shizuru.

Keiko giggled. "Well, does it matter? It's good that they're together again."

"Yeah," Yusuke mumbled under his breath, scratching the back of his head, before sending the couple an ear-to-ear grin, "Good to see you two again."

Kurama and Botan smiled back. "It's good to see you again, too, Yusuke," they replied chorusedly.

"Of course I mean, good to see you two "together" again," Yusuke teased again, resulting in Botan blushing beet red and Kurama, too, except he wasn't blushing as red as Botan, his now girlfriend was.

Girlfriend.

A smile unconsciously formed on his lips at the word.

After so long, he finally got what his heart wanted.

"Anyway, Shiori's waiting for us; she can't wait to see you, Kurama. And I'm sure she'd be surprised to hear that you and Botan are dating again," Keiko giddily said, letting out a giggle as she skipped towards her boyfriend, wrapping an arm around Yusuke as they all started to walk towards the direction where Shiori's house was.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be so surprised and happy for you guys, she'll probably start planning your wedding," Kuwabara laughed, along with the others at the thought.

"Yeah, yeah!" Yusuke nodded in agreement. "I can soooo see that happening."

Blood rushed to Botan's cheeks at Kuwabara's words. For a moment, she conjured up an image of her, wearing a white, lacy gown and Kurama, in a matching white tuxedo in her head, causing her face to grow hotter and redder.

"S-shut up, Kuwabara!" Botan indignantly cried out, albeit she was happy at the idea of her marrying Kurama. She hoped it would really come true one day.

"Ooohh, someone's getting shy!" the carrot top teased her, knowing that it would embarrass her even more.

He was right; as the blush on her face deepened – if that was even possible. She was as red as a tomato. "I-I am not!"

Kuwabara laughed, but said nothing else, and instead turned his gaze towards Hiei, the shortest – except Yukina – in the group, "Hey small fry, you've been really silent… Aren't you happy for your best friend?" he asked, saying 'best friend' instead of Kurama as he knew Hiei admitted Kurama as the only one closest to him besides his twin sister.

Crimson eyes rolled to the side. "I don't care," he nonchalantly answered.

"Man… the midget's got no feelings…" Kuwabara muttered under his breath.

Hiei smirked, and was about to say something only to cut himself off when a hand patted his head. A vein popped dangerously at the back of his head and his smirk soon fell.

Kurama patted the top of Hiei's head. "Aww, of course Hiei's happy for me!"

The redhead merely chuckled when his best friend slapped his hand away, shot a death glare his way before crossing his arms with a 'hmph'. He could tell that Hiei was just holding himself back from cursing at him.

His chuckle was abruptly stopped, when he felt a hand grabbed his, intertwining their fingers together. Averting his gaze towards Botan who was walking next to him, Kurama couldn't help but smile when he saw the red color on the girl of his dreams' cheeks.

Gently gripping her hand back, Kurama could only thank the heavens for granting him another chance to be with this girl.

And this time, he wasn't going to mess things up again.

Because she was the girl he loved.

And this girl, Botan,

she'd always have, and always will be the only girl he'd ever love.


	2. The Only One

**The Only One**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, as its rightful owner is none other than Yoshihiro Togashi himself.**

 **Note: Hey! I know I said this was a one-shot, but, damn… I couldn't help myself when YuriHinamori and WonderfulDemon123 kept sending me PMs for a part two. So I decided to write one, which I wrote things from Botan's perspective. So yeah, it's a two-shot story now… But oh well. I'm just still kinda surprised I managed to write two loooooong chapters on the same day. And I'm beat! But it's all worth it if all my readers get to enjoy this. I've include some things I didn't write in the last chapter, but yeah, it's up to you if you want to continue reading this. So anyways, I hope you guys will enjoy it!**

"Botan?"

His voice sounded the same, if not, deeper.

"Eh? Kurama…"

Why was he here?

This was the first time she had seen him ever since those five long years ago.

Botan's heart was thumping so loudly in her chest, the sound nearly drowned any other sound. Happiness overcame her, and for a moment, she could die crying right then and there. But, she held back. Just a few more moments as they stood there, staring at each other in silence.

She wanted to look at him.

Just a bit longer.

Kurama looked nearly the same as he did years ago; but Botan knew there was something different about him. His long red hair seemed slightly longer now, and yet, it didn't make him look feminine at all to her. On the contrary, she thought he looked more handsome. His eyes, still as emerald as they were before, and his facial appearance didn't change that much; except he was taller now, and his body was more solid than it used to be. Even in his black turtleneck shirt, she could still see that he'd developed more muscles during these past years.

Had he been working out?

Then she noticed something else. Kurama wasn't the only one who was taller now; she was, too, in fact. Of course, she knew her height had grown over the past years, but she didn't know it had grown that much. Even though Kurama now stood taller than he was, she was now only reaching his neck. When they were still in high school, she could still vividly remember that she could only reach his shoulders.

Things have changed, haven't they?

She was now living somewhere outside of town, with her dad, in a small apartment that could only fit the two of them. She worked part-time at a café, as she knew her father couldn't make that much money out of his job. Of course, she was accepted in a few colleges in Japan; some of them being well-known even. She went into one, but quit halfway through when she learned from a relative that her father was having a hard time supporting his own life, much less her own. She wasn't sure why he wouldn't get enough money from his job; money was one of the reasons he had accepted to move outside of town anyway. The job was supposed to offer a lot of salary, but she soon found out from a friend of her father's that also worked at the same company, that their boss was abusive to his staff, and didn't give them enough money. Sometimes, they didn't even earn half of the money they were promised.

As if to atone for the times she'd ask for money from her father, she stopped going to college and started working instead. She didn't know why he decided to keep it a secret from her, she knew he loved her, but she couldn't bear to think of how hard it must've been everytime she asked for money. Besides, he was the only family she had, right? She didn't want to let him be the only one to go through hard times.

Botan lived a difficult life, but she was sure Kurama lived his dream. He was living outside of Japan now; he lived abroad. And that was such an amazing thing, Botan admitted.

And to think just five years ago, they lived at the same town; went to the same school and been together.

They were polar opposites.

From their personalities, to how they were living their respective lives right now, everything was different between them.

She was always worried about even the smallest of things, he always seemed to have everything under control. She was socially active, he'd rather spend his time reading books. She was naïve, he was intelligent.

She could go on and on for as long as she wanted about how different they were.

And yet, even though they were different, they loved each other very deeply five years ago. And they still loved one another, even after these years, or at least, that was what she'd like to think.

She hoped he still loved her.

Because she did; she loved him still.

Perhaps even more than she had years ago.

In the past, when he had first asked her out, she had been slightly skeptical about what he was intending to do. But after what Keiko told her, that she should try dating Kurama because he was a nice guy and would never hurt her; and that she should try to experience love in her life at least for a bit, Botan had finally agreed.

At first, she didn't think she'd fall for him. After all, nothing about him seemed to attract her. He was different than she was. They had nothing in common, at all. But as time flew by, she couldn't help but notice some things about him. How he'd always help a lot of people; how he'd always take care of the plants in the school's lab, and she didn't even know he had his own garden and plants to take care of, until Shiori took her to the back of the house where he kept them all. She noticed how he'd always be there for his friends, and most importantly, she noticed how well Kurama took care for his mother.

Many sons could care dearly for their mothers; but not many were able to take care of them. Kurama was one of those few people who did everything he could for his mother; and Botan had no doubt he'd do anything for the kind woman. Even though Shiori was sick, and he had his own studies, and other important things to do, he still did everything for his mother.

She felled for him… because of his big heart; because of how different he was from any other guy she knew.

From then on, she kept nothing from him. Kurama knew literally everything about her; he knew things no one else would ever know. He knew the real her, understood the real her. From the little things she loved, to the things that made her cry, she told him everything she could ever tell.

She loved him so much.

And then it came to the time, when she finally realized it had all been just a game. Keiko had gone to her house, blurting out the whole thing to her; about how it had all been a stupid dare Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara made him do. She thought he didn't actually love her, that he had been playing her all the time.

So she went and saw him.

She yelled at him, threw things at him… and if she could, she wanted to slap him in the face so hard at the time. But she decided not to, she couldn't do it. She'd never thrown anything to someone,

but he was the first person to make her do so.

Because he had hurt her more than anyone else had ever hurt her.

But she could never truly inflict physical pain on him; she had even intended to miss everytime she threw something at him, because she couldn't really hurt him. She couldn't even bear to think of doing such a thing. She let the things she threw hit any other places, except anywhere near his body.

After she had told herself to calm down, she had looked at him. She could've sworn her heart ached so much when she did, but she blurted everything out. The questions; everything she came to say to him. She knew it was cruel to say that he was supposed to go out and sleep with her, but it came out just like that, before she could even stop it from coming out of her mouth.

When he hadn't justify her questions with any answers, Botan had abruptly left. She ran as far away as she could from him, as her heart couldn't bear to look at him anymore.

That night when they broke up was the night she cried so hard, her eyes almost felt as if they were bleeding.

After what happened, she stopped going to school. Not permanently, but momentarily. So, she didn't have to see him, and she'd get time to be alone.

Time alone from him.

From their friends.

When Keiko had went to her place, she had screamed bloody murder, saying something about what a mess she made in her room. She didn't care then; she needed to express her anger in one way or another. She threw everything that was made out of glass she could find in the room. Albeit she probably overreacted a bit by making such a mess anyway; Botan gave little to no care about it as she was just glad that after everything in her room was thrown all over the place, she finally felt at least some relief.

About a couple of days Keiko came, Yusuke did. She had wondered if it was because her brunette best friend told him to, or if it was just because he himself wanted to.

He tried to apologize to her again at the time. She was surprised to hear him mutter the words 'I'm sorry' to her, especially after she ignored the hundreds of texts from him and Kuwabara telling her how sorry they were. All three of them did really – him, Kuwabara and even Hiei, except he merely sent her one message of apology. But knowing how hard it must've been for the short guy to apologize to her, or anyone for that matter, she knew how that apology meant a lot for him. And yet, because she was still furious at them for being one of the people who let her down, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive them. Not just yet anyway. She almost did, but she didn't. She wanted them to learn how such a dare would break other people's hearts and ruin their lives.

When she hadn't replied, Yusuke kept tugging at her curled up body, repeating his apology over and over again, until Botan just couldn't take it anymore; somewhat touched her friends would go such ways just to make them forgive her.

So she did.

Yusuke had been really happy when she told him that she'd forgive them already, he had hugged her so tight she nearly couldn't breathe. But when he told her to come back to school, that Kurama missed her, and that the redhead truly loved her, Botan told him not to try and trick her again, lest he'd make her angry again.

The delinquent said nothing and left soon after.

A few more days passed, and she finally came back to school. Her friends had all missed her presence; the girls had jumped up and down in excitement, and had tears in their eyes, so happy that she was back to school after days of worrying that she might not come back. Yusuke and Kuwabara had started to joke around about her quitting school, which she told them was something she'd never do even if she hated school. And Hiei had just given her one of his famous smirks, and told her, "About damn time."

Botan wasn't sure why, but she had been hoping that Kurama would talk to her. That maybe they could work things out, and at least be friends again. But when he didn't, she didn't know what to do.

She wanted to talk to him.

But, for some reason, her heart didn't feel ready.

Not until he'd talk to her first.

But he never did.

Days passed, and days became weeks, weeks became months… Three months to be exact. And then came the day when she visited Kurama's and Shiori's house; she wasn't sure why she was there after months of not coming to the place, but she just needed to see him. Those three months had been unbearable to her, she had started wanting to talk to him so much she didn't even care if her heart wasn't ready yet at the time; she just needed to speak to him, it didn't matter what they'd talk about, she just needed to hear his voice again.

She missed him.

She had knocked on the door, but no one came to answer. She had thought it was weird, and she didn't know why she did it; but she took out the spare key she always brought along with her just in case anything were to happen to Kurama's house; the spare key to his house that Shiori had given her a long time ago when she and her son were still dating. She had initially thought that giving such an access to their house was a bit absurd, but the kind woman had merely told her that she trusted Botan, and that she wanted the girl to feel as if she was at her own house.

She was glad she hadn't give it back to Shiori; she just never did, she didn't have the nerve to see the woman after she and Kurama split, afraid that she might've disappointed her as she knew Shiori treated her basically like her own daughter.

When she had entered the house, again she thought it was weird that neither Kurama or Shiori was there. She had wanted to leave, but something had drawn her to the stairs.

Or more precisely, someplace upstairs.

Kurama's room.

She didn't know why; but she had gotten up the stairs and went into his bedroom. She hadn't been there for what felt like ages, she couldn't help herself.

That was when she nearly cried.

There were pictures of her… of them together. The memories of the time they'd spent with each other came flooding back to her, and it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Yusuke was right.

Kurama really did love her.

She thought she needed to see him right away; that she needed to find him, no matter where he was. But then, she saw something on his desk, placed nearby a picture of her with chocolate ice cream melting in her hand, and Kurama who was laughing at her. She had merely glanced the photo for a second; missing what happened, but the curiosity of wanting to know what was written on the letter overcame her, and she had read it.

And when she did, something inside her broke.

Kurama was supposed to leave to study abroad.

On that exact same day.

So Botan did the only thing she could do; she ran as fast as she could to the airplane. She needed to tell him how much she loved him before he left, she needed to talk to him for one last time before he'd gone away.

But it had been too late.

She had called for him, but the door had closed before he could even turn around to see her.

She thought the night they had broken up was the night she would cry the hardest, but she was wrong.

The day he left was the day she cried the hardest she could ever cry in her life.

She didn't even get to see him.

She didn't manage to kiss him goodbye like she wanted to.

Five years had passed since then, and during those five years; she had visited this town countless times, wishing that someday she'd get to see him again. But when she never did, Keiko had told her that Kurama would only come when it was in the holidays; as those were the only times he wasn't so busy. It was a shame that she and her father had to go to her sick grandmother's house all the time.

Keiko had told her before that Kurama had asked about her, whether or not she'd ever visit the town… she had told her what she told the redhead; and Botan was slightly glad that Keiko didn't tell him anymore than that.

Her brunette best friend had found out about how things were with her family; their financial problems and all. Botan hadn't meant to tell her, as she would like to keep these things to herself, but she knew that Keiko would start to demand answers, especially when she'd dropped out of college, and Botan didn't have much of a choice, now did she?

But she had asked Keiko not to tell Kurama anything, if he'd ask.

And when she was sure that the others would want to know what was going on with her, she told Keiko to tell them not to say anything to Kurama either.

She wasn't sure why she was worried about Kurama knowing that her family had problems with money, as he knew everything about her.

Maybe it was because she didn't want him to worry.

Maybe it was because she wanted to tell him herself.

Maybe it was both of those reasons.

When she had decided to visit the town, after persuading her father countless times, saying that they could go to her grandmother's anytime, Botan had thought of strolling at the park where they'd use to go on a lot of dates. It was what she'd always do, because she'd remember the wonderful times when he was with her, and everytime she'd come back to this park, it'd always feel as if he was really there with her.

She hadn't thought she'd ever get to see him again,

but now she was here,

and he was right in front of her.

The thought brought such happiness to her, that she had grabbed him by the hand when he made a move to leave, and before she could even stop herself; she buried her head in his chest, the safest place she'd ever feel on earth, and cried.

She had told him she was sorry, about three times, before he hugged her, and pulled her into a kiss. She was taken by surprise at his actions, but her shock died down a second after, as she immediately came to her senses, and kissed him back.

She had missed this.

God knows how much she had missed this.

This was like that time; the time when they had gone out on their fifth day at the park where she had asked him to kiss her, but cried when he didn't.

Like now, he had tried to stop her crying then.

It was the same.

He was the same.

Nothing much has changed.

Their feelings were still as deep as ever for each other.

She had wished the kiss would last forever, but knowing breathing was a necessity, she'd broke it off, albeit reluctantly.

She told him everything she had been dying to say for these past five years. Everything she needed him to know.

He had apologized; and she had told him how she'd already forgiven him a long time ago. And when he had kissed her forehead so gently and full of love, stared down at her with so much affection in his eyes, and when he had said 'I love you' to her and that they were going out again; those were the happiest moments in her life.

She didn't think she could ever be so happy.

When their friends had interrupted a second kiss between them, she had been slightly embarrassed and not to mention, annoyed. Especially when they started teasing the now two lovebirds; Botan didn't know if anything else could ever make her feel so embarrassed.

Kuwabara proved her wrong, teasing her about her and Kurama getting married, all the while they were on the way to Shiori's. And that was the most embarrassing moment in her life as she'd just imagined such an image in her head; but the thought also brought such joy in her heart, and slight hope that one day she and Kurama would develop into something so pure; something that would last forever.

But, she needed to make sure if all of this was real, she needed another reminder to know it wasn't just a dream. So, she took Kurama's hand in hers again, intertwining their fingers for the first time since five long years; something she'd always do when they had been together in the past.

She felt his warmth, felt him grip her hand slightly and she couldn't help but blush darker – she hadn't realized she was blushing. But a smile soon found her lips,

Yes, this was really happening.

They were together again.

And that was the only thing she could ever wish for.

After a while, they had finally reached Shiori's house, where the woman had welcomed all of them so warmly. And as expected, when she saw Botan and her son holding hands, she was surprised, but everyone could tell she was also happy by the way she jumped up and down excitedly, and hugged the two of them.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you two back together again!" she said in happiness, wiping away the tears of joy in her eyes.

Botan felt somewhat touched by the woman's happiness for the two of them. "Aww, Shiori! I'm so happy too!" She sniffed, and she could've sworn she wanted to cry.

"Oi, oi, Botan! Don't cry!" Yusuke taunted, laughing as soon as those words left him. "Man, you always cry so easily!"

"Yeah!" Kuwabara joined him in laughing at the poor girl. "Talk about crybaby!"

Blood immediately rushed to her cheeks at her friends' constant teasing, both out of embarrassment and annoyance. She was tempted to go and hit them on their heads, but she didn't want to lose the feeling of holding Kurama's hand, even if it was only for a few moments.

It probably sounded childish, but she hadn't seen him for five years; she had missed him so much, she wanted the moment of them holding hands, to last longer.

She was even more tempted to hit them when they started to call her crybaby over and over again, but still, she held back.

"Come on, you guys!" Thankfully, Keiko did what she had been wanting to do to the two silly friends of hers, and hit them on their heads. "Stop saying that! Women have soft hearts, you know?" she scolded.

Yusuke grumbled something about how his brunette girlfriend didn't need to hit him so hard, while Kuwabara just went and started to apologize to Yukina, ignoring the big lump on his head. Botan wasn't sure why the carrot top was doing that, and she could tell that Yukina was confused as well, but she didn't care that much when Kurama squeezed her hand.

Her heart swelled with joy at the feeling, and she lifted her head to meet the emerald eyes she loved so much. To see the face of the person she hold so dear in her heart.

"I'm glad we're together again," he told her, giving her a small peck on the cheek, to which they both ignored how their friends started sounding off "oohh" and "ahh"s of amazement.

Shiori giggled at the public display of affection from her son, and merely shook her head. A smile formed on her lips, at last her son would get to be happy again. And with the only girl he could ever love; the only girl Shiori could consider her own daughter.

" _Hmm… maybe I should start planning out their wedding! I'm sure that will happen sooner or later… Oh, I can't wait to have cute and tiny grandchildrens running all over the house!_ " she thought excitedly, unaware she just confirmed one of Kuwabara's earlier statements that day.

The others started to enter the house, leaving the two of them outside.

"Don't you guys want to come in?" Shiori inquired, to which Kurama shook his head.

"Not yet, mother. Perhaps after a few minutes. I need to talk to Botan for a bit."

Her mouth formed into an understanding 'o', and she nodded her head, closing the door, and leaving it unlocked.

Botan giggled slightly after the door was closed. "Well, I'm glad that we're together again, too," she agreed, a bright smile resting on her pink lips.

Kurama grinned a toothy grin, something he hadn't done for long years, proving how happy he was to have her again. "And trust me, this time I won't mess things up. I won't let you slip away ever again," he promised, his voice serious even if he was sporting a big grin on his face.

"Stop grinning," she laughed, "It doesn't make you look as serious as you sound."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, but I can't stop. I'm just so… happy," his last words came out in a soft whisper only both of them could hear, the grin now replaced with a small smile.

Botan caught the slight pink color tinting his cheeks as he said those words, "I am, too," she said simply, to which he responded by cupping her cheeks in his hands and bringing their foreheads closer so they would touch.

"I want this second time to last forever," Kurama whispered.

Her eyes were teary for the umpteenth time that day; just when she thought she couldn't have anymore happiest moments in her life, he proved her wrong. Those words meant the world to her; it showed how much he loved her.

Botan bit her lip, and closed her eyes for a few moments to suppress the tears, before opening them again and un-biting her lip, looking at him with so much love in her amethyst orbs. "I want it to last forever, too, Kurama. You're the only one I want to spend my entire life with," she whispered back softly.

He smiled, happy and full with pride to hear those words came from those lips. How long has he waited for her to say that? How long has he wanted to say that? Five years ago felt as if it had been a dream; something that didn't happen as he stood here with this girl.

"Alright now," he said after they had been gazing into each other's eyes for what seemed like such a long time, "let's go inside. I'm sure the others are waiting for us, and that my mother has cooked us a very delicious meal. And you know how Yusuke and Kuwabara are, they can't really be patient when it comes to food," he joked, a burst of laughter erupting from his chest.

She laughed with him. "Yep, I know."

They walked over to the door, but Botan stopped in her tracks before Kurama could even open the wooden material. He turned to look at her with a questioning look on his face, but she merely smiled.

"Kurama… there are a lot of things I want to tell you," she said, thinking of telling everything that had been going on in her life ever since they last saw each other.

The redhead was also thinking the same thing. "Yes, me too, sweetheart… Me too… and don't worry, we have all the time in the world to catch up with each other," he whispered softly against her skin as he kissed her forehead the second time that day, planting another brief kiss on her lips before they both entered the house.

Each other; they were everything to each other. They'd want no one else but one another to spend their lives with.

Botan had always known she'd find the one; as her mother used to tell her when she was a little girl,

and Kurama was the one.

He was the only one.

And when they were inside, Hiei greeted them, a small smile on his lips as he said those words Botan hadn't heard him say ever since five years ago,

"About damn time."

Even if he didn't show it, Botan knew he was happy for them.

With that, the three of them laughed and went to join the others in the dining room.

Fin -

 **End of chapter note: Done! Finally! Anyway, before I go, I'd like to say thank you to YuriHinamori, FireStorm1991 and WonderfulDemon123 for the favourites you've given this story of mine so far. Thankies~! Now if you'll excuse me… Wendy McCalister out! :Sorry I just always wanted to do that, don't ask me why:**

 **With that, I can finally say this story ends here. And I hope I'll see you again in my next update, which will either be Broken Lovers or Behind These Sapphire Eyes, since I have the next chapters already planned out for those fics besides the other two fic in progress (WADOH and Camellia of course, but yeah, I'm going to finish all my stories… in due time).**


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